The world according to Edi…

Tropical Monochrome

Now let’s not start pointing fingers and throwing accusations about who abandoned whom, let’s just all enjoy the fact that we’re together again. Deal?

Ok, let’s get down to business. (To defeat the Huns.)

Summer’s pretty much dead and gone and we’re rapidly moving into the only season where it is appropriate to use the words pumpkin and spice in the same sentence. Or latte for that matter.

As something as a final hurrah for the dying season, let’s try a last ditch attempt at a summer look. This muted tropical outfit will see you from your mate’s BBQ through to drinks at your favourite rooftop bar.

With a top half as striking (and let’s face it – obnoxious) as this, it’s a good idea to keep the rest of the outfit as simple as possible. I’ve gone for these black skinny suit trousers from ASOS. Black jeans would work just as well, but proper trousers give it a subtle touch of formal, making it look a little more thought out. On a hot day, dark shorts would be great too.

White trainers are pretty much my go-to at the moment, but you could probably already tell that by how well-worn they are! For a monochrome look, obviously the only colours allowed are black, white and the 50 or so shades of grey, so these white sneaks fit perfectly. The trainers dress down the suit trousers and make sure everyone knows that you’re still young and cool, but if you want to go a little more upmarket, black brogues or monkstrap shoes could replace the sneaks, taking the look from day to night.

Going ‘sockless’ with the trouser hems rolled up once or twice is a nice touch. (I awkwardly forgot to do the hems in the picture.) I put sockless in inverted commas because not wearing socks in the summer just leads to sweaty, smelly shoes which is bad for everyone, especially the people you live with. Try no-show socks like these and your housemates will love you forever. Unless of course you’ve got other things wrong with you. But I’ve tried my best.

This tropical tee and shirt are from boohooman.com but I’m not even going to bother linking them because their stock turns over so quickly. I thought I’d go for the matching set as it’s something that stands out. Matchy-matchy can be hard to pull off so replacing the tee with a plain white one, leaving just the tropical shirt, would be a great alternative if you’re not sure. I decided to tuck in the t-shirt as, once again, it adds a formal touch to the look.

Hawaiian-esque shirts are having something of a comeback at the moment, especially with the rise of the Cuban (or revere) collar. That said, it can be easy to look like you’ve accidentally stumbled into your father’s holiday wardrobe. To combat that, I’ve gone for a minimal black and white pattern.

Alternatively, as we move into autumn, you might want to jettison the tropical print altogether and try a similar look with other patterns. Paisley, windowpane check and stripes (pinstripe and otherwise) are some of my favourites.

Finally, throw on a plain baseball cap and some mirrored sunglasses to finish off this contemporary look with a 90s twist.

Well I have to say, it was great catching up! We really must do this more often.